“Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
Parallel Translations
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“Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, that they come up out of the Jordan.”
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Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
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'Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.'
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Joshua 4:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 25:16-22 You shall put the covenant which I shall give you into the ark. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two and a half cubits shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. You shall make two cherubim of hammered gold. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. You shall make the cherubim on its two ends of one piece with the mercy seat. The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I will give you. There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the covenant, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
- Joshua 3:3-6 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of Yahweh your God’s covenant, and the Levitical priests bearing it, then leave your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it of about two thousand cubits by measure—don’t come closer to it—that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way before.” Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow Yahweh will do wonders among you.” Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and cross over before the people.” They took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
- Revelation 11:19 God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 16. Command the priests, etc Here it is shown…
16. Command the priests, etc Here it is shown more clearly how meekly and calmly the priests yielded implicit obedience to the divine command, for they did not move a foot until Joshua ordered the signal to retire. But as it was an instance of rare virtue to be thus modest and obedient, so the fatherly kindness of God is conspicuous in this, that he condescended to direct and govern almost every step in their progress by his own voice, lest any perplexity might occur to retard them.
Next follows a more conspicuous confirmation of the miracle; for as soon as they climbed the opposite bank, the Jordan began again to flow as usual. Had it not returned to its former state, and indeed, suddenly, many would have imagined the cause of the change to be hidden but fortuitous. But when God displays his power and favor at minute intervals of time all doubt is removed. The moment the feet of the priests were made wet the Jordan retired; now on their departure he recovers his free course, and that at the very instant when they reached the bank. For the term dry here means that part which was not covered by the overflow. Thus the river, though dumb, was the best of heralds, proclaiming with a loud voice that heaven and earth are subject to the God of Israel.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Because the Ark testified God’s presence, and the Tables…
Because the Ark testified God’s presence, and the Tables of the Law contained therein, signified God’s will toward his people.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jos 4:16 Command the priests that bear the ark…
Jos 4:16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.
Ver. 16. Command the priests.] They would not stir out of their station till God called them off. It is good to do all by a warrant. To be out of God’s precincts is to be out of his protection.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain For being now in the middle, and lowest, and…
For being now in the middle, and lowest, and deepest place of the river, (of which See POOLE "Jos 3:17",) they are most properly said to ascend or go up to the land; which word is thrice used ill this and the two next following verses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Command the priests that bear the ark of the…
Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony,.... In all places before, in this history, the ark is called the ark of the covenant, here the ark of the testimony, which signifies the same thing, the law; which was both the covenant between God and the people, and a testimony of his will unto them; the Septuagint version has both words:
that they come up out of Jordan; where they stayed until all the people passed over, for the encouragement of them, and until they received this order.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Out of Jordan - For being now in the…
Out of Jordan - For being now in the middle, and deepest place of the river, they are most properly said to go up to the land.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Ark of the testimony — This was so…
16. Ark of the testimony — This was so called because it contained the two tables of testimony. Deu_31:18; see note on Jos_3:3. Gesenius renders, ark of the law.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Command the priests . . . that they…
(16) Command the priests . . . that they come up out of Jordan.—Observe that the removal of the priests and the ark of the covenant from their station in Jordan is made the subject of a distinct section, and treated as a distinct event. It need not have been so for the purpose of the mere historical narrative. We might have taken it for granted. But the significance of the event is so marked as to receive a separate notice. We are not suffered to forget by what means Jordan was driven back, and held in check; and the check was not meant to be perpetual. We are reminded that the suspension of the power of death for men has its limits. When the day of grace is over, the waters will “return unto their place and flow over all the banks as before.” (Comp. Isa_28:16-18; Isa_28:20.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The testimony. The word tWde though derived from the…
The testimony. The word tWde though derived from the same root as de witness, would seem rather to have the sense of precept, from the idea of repetition contained in the root. Compare the well known Hebrew particle dwO again. It must refer to the two tables of the law which (Heb_10:4) were placed in the ark. (see Deu_10:5, and comp. Exo_25:16, Exo_25:21, 40 Num_17:10, where this is said to be the testimony) Other things were placed in the ark, such as the manna, Aaron"s rod, and these, no doubt, were for a witness to the facts of the Mosaic record. The LXX, however, consistently render this word by arturia marturion . The Vulgate here has arcam foederis.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.